A Table in Berlin

Mark Davies" poignant and richly comic debut novel of love and deceit, set against the brooding menace of the Berlin Wall, is an effortless blend of drama, romance and high comedy. When a young musician stumbles into a Greek restaurant to shelter from the rain, it is not the random act of fate he first believes. Charlie meets Joanna and falls at once, utterly seduced. But his life begins to unravel at an astonishing pace once it becomes intertwined with the lives of the four enigmatic English women who are sitting at the table next to his. In divided Berlin, nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears, and people are seldom quite what they seem. Gradually, Charlie and Joanna are drawn into the shadow of an unknown tragic past."Of course, I do occasionally think about how differently my life might have turned out. What if the door had not been left open? What if I hadn’t gone in? But it had, and I did."MARK DAVIES writes in a direct, funny, enjoyable way. He does not shirk drama, but dispenses it wisely, using irony as an antidote. Though described as a romantic novel, he uses action, sex, intrigue, and even musical numbers to fuel a witty plot. It is comedy with a twist, with every scene adding to a story in which the reader cannot help but become as entangled as any of its characters. Be warned!